Job 10

¹Yt anoieth my soule of my lijf; Y schal lete my speche ayens me, Y schal speke in the bitternesse of my soule.

²Y schal seie to God, Nyle thou condempne me; schewe thou to me, whi thou demest me so.

³Whether it semeth good to thee, if thou `falsli chalengist and oppressist me, the werk of thin hondis; and if thou helpist the counsel of wickid men?

⁴Whethir fleischli iyen ben to thee, ethir, as a man seeth, also thou schalt se?

⁵Whether thi daies ben as the daies of man, and `thi yeeris ben as mannus tymes;

⁶that thou enquere my wickidnesse, and enserche my synne?

⁷And wite, that Y haue do no `wickid thing; sithen no man is, that may delyuere fro thin hond?

⁸Thin hondis han maad me, and han formed me al in cumpas; and thou castist me doun so sodeynli.

⁹Y preye, haue thou mynde, that thou madist me as cley, and schalt brynge me ayen in to dust.

¹⁰Whether thou hast not mylkid me as mylk, and hast cruddid me togidere as cheese?

¹¹Thou clothidist me with skyn and fleisch; thou hast ioyned me togidere with boonys and senewis.

¹²Thou hast youe lijf and mercy to me, and thi visiting hath kept my spirit.

¹³Thouy thou helist these thingis in thin herte, netheles Y woot, that thou hast mynde of alle thingis.

¹⁴If Y dide synne, and thou sparidist me at an our; whi suffrist thou not me to be cleene of my wickidnesse?

¹⁵And if Y was wickid, wo is to me; and if Y was iust, Y fillid with turment and wretchidnesse `schal not reise the heed.

¹⁶And if Y reise `the heed for pride, thou schalt take me as a lionesse; and thou turnest ayen, and turmentist me wondirli.

¹⁷Thou gaderist in store thi witnessis ayens me, and thou multipliest thin yre, `that is, veniaunce, ayens me; and peynes holden knyythod in me.

¹⁸Whi hast thou led me out of the wombe? `And Y wolde, that Y were wastid, lest an iye `schulde se me.

¹⁹That Y hadde be, as if Y were not, and `were translatid, ethir borun ouer, fro the wombe to the sepulcre.

²⁰Whether the fewnesse of my daies schal not be endid in schort? Therfor suffre thou me, that Y biweile `a litil my sorewe,

²¹bifor that Y go, and turne not ayen, to the derk lond, and hilid with the derknesse of deth, to the lond of wrecchidnesse and of derknessis;

²²where is schadewe of deeth, and noon ordre, but euerlastynge hidousnesse dwellith.

Job 10

¹My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

²I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.

³Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?

⁴Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth?

⁵Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man’s days,

⁶That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?

⁷Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.

⁸Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.

⁹Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?

¹⁰Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese?

¹¹Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews.

¹²Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.

¹³And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee.

¹⁴If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity.

¹⁵If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;

¹⁶For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me.

¹⁷Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.

¹⁸Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me!

¹⁹I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.

²⁰Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,

²¹Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death;

²²A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.